Thanks to Keating Dental Lab, the Baylor Men’s basketball team, and the generosity of a dental industry marketing professional, Dental Lifeline Network (DLN) was a big winner in this year’s NCAA tourney.

Each year, Keating Dental Lab sponsors an NCAA Tournament bracket challenge, free to enter and open to all, with a grand prize of $3,000 for the winning bracket.

This year, Derek Van Volkom, who works for Lanmark360, an advertising agency in the dental space, entered for the first time. “I was on the Keating website and I thought, why not? I picked a few long shots like Oral Roberts University and UCLA, and of course, Baylor to win it all.”

Derek won the Keating bracket challenge—and donated the entire $3,000 winner’s check to the Dental Lifeline Network (DLN). “I decided to pay it forward and be charitable to an organization that does so much for dentistry—the industry that has supported my company and me personally for over 20 years,” said Derek. “It was like found money, and the DLN is a very worthy cause. It’s a nonprofit that provides free dental services to veterans, disabled, and elderly patients who don’t have insurance.”

“I was super excited to see this year’s winner donate the prize money to a great cause,” said Shaun Keating, CDT, of Keating Dental Lab. Coincidentally, Keating Labs has supported DLN for years, donating hundreds of cases to their Donated Dental Services program.

“Our lab does a lot with veterans' groups and we always like to give back, so it’s great to see the winnings go to such an amazing organization dedicated to dentistry,” said Shaun.

“It was an amazing tournament, and donating the money just makes it a win-win for everyone,” said Derek.